On 21 June 2018, Steven Maijoor, Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA“) delivered a keynote address at the Federation of European Securities Exchanges Convention 2018 in Vienna.
Mr Maijoor focused on the following areas.
LEI progress
ESMA and the national competent authorities have been closely monitoring the use of LEIs and have observed a steady and substantial increase in use of the identifier. The speaker noted that currently 95.5% of the instruments reported in the ESMA reference data system have the correct LEI.
DVC
The dark trading of more than 900 instruments has been suspended as a result of the double volume cap (“DVC“) system and the overall number and volume of transactions in dark pools has been significantly reduced. However, some trading venues are still dealing with data quality issues and are accordingly advised to step up their efforts and submit all necessary and correct data.
Systematic Internalisers and Periodic Auctions
ESMA is currently carrying out a fact-finding exercise on the different periodic auction trading systems undertaking an in-depth analysis in order to understand their various features. If necessary, further ESMA measures or recommendations may be introduced.
Brexit and third-country equivalence
ESMA welcomes the European Commission’s proposal to amend the MiFIR equivalence conditions for third country investment firms ahead of Brexit with respect to third country trading venues. A consistent and harmonised EU regulatory and supervisory framework governing third-country venues is required to ensure that risks related to third country venues are addressed.
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